Arelith

So I was messing around with ideas, that keep bothering me. I'd love to hear your thoughts how to build some of these concepts.
I have no race, neither background in mind. Just classy stereotypical approach.

Sadly every build I tried ended up really gimped.

How'd you build a Detective character?

Key command you will be using as a detective will be -investigate.
Key skills you must have for investigate will be:
*Lore
*Search
You will also need detection skills:
*Spot - For using *looks*
*Listen - Better in detecting hiding people due to Amplify spell
If you want a redneck investigator, one that doesn't always abide the law, you might need:
*Open Lock - breaking into quarters to get some juicy information on item descriptions or whatever it is you want to see in PCs chests (Yes... I mean STORAGE chest... not... you know... )
*Disable Trap - Helps with trapped quarters
If you're going mundane:
*Hide and MS - Want to go stealthy when listening to conversations.
Some good to have tools when it comes to investigation:
*Scry - for espionage... magically speaking that is
*Ward - to counter espionage
*Send Illusion - For informing another party even when you're inside a dungeon
With those things in mind, you want high INT (For skill points) or just choose a high yielding skill class, choose between going mundane or going magical.

Will update this post once I have a build idea in mind. This what I was actually aiming for with my elf, but never got it to the "ideal" detective character that I had imagined before.

(For some reason I am failing real hard when it comes to formatting texts here in the new forums. LoL! Will get to that as soon as I get time.)

Pick a headmodel that has a hat. And keep in mind you have the only character ever that is allowed to wear one of those ridiculous trenchcoats.

In A Motionless Scene wrote:Pick a headmodel that has a hat. And keep in mind you have the only character ever that is allowed to wear one of those ridiculous trenchcoats.

Lol


I think I lean towards non-magical high int approach when it comes to detectives. Best bet would be rogue, pumping up social and analyzing skills, wisdom too. Though this will leave him very vulnerable on the field. Maybe parry to for flavor?

Must you not have ranger in order to read tracks?
That might help.

And here's inspiration from the best detective ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UOTIW83oXs

Dip in ranger for tracking sounds like an idea. Or Harper Agent.

I would go Rogue/Ranger, perhaps with a splash of Fighter if you really want those extra feats. You would be getting the tracking ability of a Ranger, disguising from Rogue, sneaking from both, investigating skills from both.. All sound like viable things to have as a detective.

Monk/ranger/rogue would be the route id take.

Rogue's a given. You'll need the skills!

Lore, search, and spot are givens. Spellcraft and heal could be nice, too, to represent understanding of magical weapons and anatomy. Bluff, disable trap, open lock, hide, and move silently are also worth considering, depending on the flavor of detective you're going for.

Ranger sounds neat in theory, but doesn't really help in city areas. Definitely not necessary. You could skip it.

Among tradeskills, I might consider alchemy and cooking (i.e. poisons) if you wish to take the traditional Holmesian approach.

Stat-wise, you'll need high intelligence and wisdom. Anything else is optional, though either a high strength or high dexterity will help in combat.

My former character, Olivia, was plotted as an investigative archetype. She was a Rogue/Fighter/Monk with all of the above skills, as well as 20 intelligence and 18 wisdom. She was rather fragile (8 constitution!), but held her own okay in combat due to a decent dexterity score.